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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Barela

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/22/07

2/13/07 HB 231/aHJC

SHORT TITLE Uniform Power of Attorney

SB

ANALYST Wilson

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

minimal

General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of the Attorney General (OAG)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HJC Amendment

The House Judiciary Committee amendment to House Bill 231 in the section on agent’s duties

states that if so requested and unless a shorter period of time is required by a law other than the

Uniform Power of Attorney Act within 30 days shall comply with his duties.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Bill 231 enacts a new Uniform Power of Attorney Act which replaces and repeals existing

law regulating powers of attorney (NMSA Sections 45-5-501 through 45-5-617). The new act

will regulate powers of attorney which are writings or records that grant authority to one person,

the agent to act in the place of another, the principal. The new act will regulate signing,

durability (survival of a power of attorney after incapacitation of the principal), the effect of

appointment of a conservator or guardian on the power of attorney and agent, effective date,

termination, agent compensation, authority etc.

The bill also contains a statutory form power of attorney.

House Bill 231/aHJC– Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There will be a minimal administrative cost for statewide update, distribution and documentation

of statutory changes. New laws, amendments to existing laws and new hearings have the

potential to increase caseloads in the courts, thus requiring additional resources to handle the

increase.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

This bill enacts the Uniform Power of Attorney Act drafted and approved by the National

Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws at its annual conference July 7-14 2006.

The prefatory note to the adopted version describes the new act as primarily a set of default rules

that preserve a principal’s freedom to choose both the extent of an agent’s authority and the

principles to govern the agent’s conduct.

The note advises that the new act is meant to address the growing divergence among the states

with respect to statutory treatment of powers of attorney.

DW/mt